New Year's Eve - Temperature 36C

Stompies isn't that a nicer word than butts. 

Well it has been a busy few days and one thing I have learned is that the brakes on the Mean Machine work very well, I went on a ghost walk tour with Ailsa in Prince Albert on Friday which finished at 8:15pm so it was just getting dark and I had a 120km drive back to Oudtshoorn, I was just getting into my stride travelling at the speed limit of 100kph when a Kudu minced across the road in front of me, the brakes stopped me hitting the animal but from  distance of about 12 feet it makes you realise how large these animals are.
I have been for a couple of local walks and today's was up to what I presume is the water tank on the western hillside above town, it was good to get some hills in before my leg muscles turn into knotted string but it was a little warm, thank goodness for the pool back at the B&B.
Yesterday was a bit of a fun admin day with visits to the farmers markets in George and Sedgefield, the latter is the best but I will have to learn how to use the video on my camera before my next visit to record the guys on point duty outside the market. I picked up some cheese, olives and pickled onions so lunch was a ploughman's. I also managed to get into the barbers before she shut at 12:30 and had an exorbitantly priced haircut for 50 Rand about £3.00 after that I booked a Stand up Paddleboarding (SUP) lesson for next Friday and then ignoring the option to go to Hoekwil for another portion of the best carrot cake in the whole world before wending my way home, I didn't want to enjoy myself too much!
The other day I went out with Joyrides which is similar to the bike-rafting trip I did in Tenerife but this time they dropped us off at the top of the Swartberg Pass and then we were on our own to make our way back to base. The trip down the pass was fun being all downhill but still a bit dodgy with the rough dirt surface, the hard work was the road trip back after hitting the tarmac, a total journey of 54kms and now I walk like John Wayne and don't sit down much either.
I have tried a number of restaurants in town and most are OK but the Santa Fe Spur is definitely the best for steaks in fact for all the grilled meat and at still less than a tenner for steak, chips, two beers and a generous tip how can you go wrong. I had a weird Spag Bol at one place, I think it was made with pure tomato puree and a huge amount of herbs, I certainly will not be trying that again.
Well time for lunch, I am going to try a padstall on the road out of town called Die Smitswinkle, it has received Marmite reviews on TripAdvisor so that should be fun.

As close as I could get to what I presume is a water tank/tower.

Looking east from the western water tower if you look carefully you can see the eastern water tower which is on the hillside above the B&B.

Xmas in the Little Karoo

What is going on? yesterday I searched the Satellite TV schedule for both The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven and neither were being shown it was all lame recent films that were being shown, instead I went to visit the Meiringspoort Waterfall all kitted out in my walking boots which were definitely necessary to negotiate the rocky path to the falls only to find that they were not required footwear for the crowd if kids who were running up and down the path and having fun in the pool at the base of the waterfall, any water feature is a magnet for the locals in this desert area. I spent the rest of the day chilling by the pool at Earthbound and I will be doing more of the same today.

The Meiringspoort Pass

My impressions of South Africa are that it is a very Christian country so I was surprised to find that, petrol stations and their attached supermarkets were open on Xmas day I thought that everywhere would be closed and today a lot of shops and the bottle stores are open.

Tomorrow is going to be a cultural day visiting museums.

A first for me.

I know as an Englishman I should be ashamed but today was the first time I have ever been to a cricket match. I have seen it on TV, played at school and even once in the army when my squadron were desperate for an eleventh man, I thought that I knew the rules but when I saw one player caught 4 times in the space of an over and not declared out I had to ask someone why not, only to be told that ball had struck the ground immediately after being hit - how can you see that sort of thing from 100 metres away, I think I will stick to rugby.
Actually I enjoyed the day at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn where the local team Warriors took on Cape Town Cobras, it was a real family occasion where people bring chairs, sunshades of one form or another, refreshments (beer) and picnics/barbecues or Braai as they are called locally and believe it or not the entrance fee was £1.20. The Rec is right in town so when the players went in for lunch a large part of the crowd, myself included headed out of the ground for something other than the offerings of the onsite burger vans.

Nearly everyone hides from the midday sun.

All shook up.

Today I went on a road trip that was recommended to me by a guy I met yesterday in De Rust, he didn't tell me that the Prince Albert Pass was another dirt road which in places was nearly too much for the ground clearance of the Mean Machine but she managed it fine more than can be said for me after 80kms of rattling around in the oolu I needed a beer and lo and behold Tiffany's sold Castle Lager on draught and the burgers were on special offer, wonderful.

MM at the start of the Prince Albert Pass.

An unexpected find in the middle of nowhere, these South Africans seem to have a naughty seaside postcard sense of humour.

I have not watched much TV over here nor listened too much to the radio so I do not know how much advertising is going on for Xmas but it does seem very low key, I have noticed a few Xmas tree stickers on shop windows and the occasional Xmas song in the supermarket but that is about it which is a relief after the way things are these days in the UK, why do we have to import all that is bad from the US? Halloween, Black Friday etc. Sorry, mini rant over.

My room at Earthbound B&B

Outdoor living area with beer fridge.

Marie's (my host) nod to Xmas

My Xmas will be mostly outdoors and I will report more with pictures soon.

Words only.

This really is a lovely little town and wherever I go people want to talk, I know it is not my magnetic personality it is just the normal way of life here. I have visited all the antique shops in the town, the guy I met last time has sold out to a lady who admits that she caters to the feminine side of the trade but that did not stop her chatting to me for half an hour and guiding me to the other dealers in town as she said they are all selling different lines of antiques and all making money so really there is no competition.

I have now been here three nights and tried different restaurants each night, tonight's' was the most expensive for ostrich steak and a bottle of wine but that came in at half the price of a decent meal at a Brunning & Price place. I have now done all the explorations of the town so I went out for a waterfall walk to Rust & Vrede which I believe is rest and peace in Afrikaans, it was not a challenging walk and the waterfall was only a pale comparison to Aber Falls but it was a good experience to be there early and have the place to myself for half an hour, the only problem was that the waterfall was upsun so none of the photographs were any good.

Well all the admin is now sorted so from tomorrow the adventures begin again hopefully with some photos to show for it.

Earthbound again.

Back on the dirt, heading 

for the Swartberg.

No barriers on this track.

If you look carefully you can see the track up the Swarzberg Pass.

The journey from Ladismith yesterday was via Calitzdorp then back onto the dirt roads and over the Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert. As soon as I hit the city limits there was a sign pointing to the Bush Pub and it was 12:30 so it would have been rude not to have a look, it turned out to be a good choice and two and a half hours later I drifted down to the Travellers Rest B&B where I met Jude & Bryan who had recently moved over here from the Wirral to run their own business. Yesterday evening I had an execrable meal at the Gallery cafe (I will not say anymore but the line to TripAdvisor was glowing) Anyway I had a beer and a good chat with my hosts afterwards to calm down, they are a lovely couple and I can recommend staying at their gaff if you are ever in the area.

Today saw me drive over to Oudtshoorn on tarmac to my home for the next 16 days, Earthbound. This is the third time I have stayed here and I cannot fault the place, the owner Marie's attention to detail is amazing, I personally would class this place as 5 star.

After all my off road journeys I found that this car is not dust proof so i dropped it off at a valeting service whilst I went to collect some beers for the fridge and a full valet inside and out cost me the princely sum of £6.00 including a JB sized tip.

This is going to be the chill out part of the trip so my reports may be a little less frequent but Oudtshoorn itself is quite centrally located and visits to the coast, the desert and all sorts of other locations are all on the cards.

Ladismith

My first impressions of Ladismith were not too positive but after meeting the people here my feelings have change, there seems to be even more integration the further east I travel but the town itself is a little lacking in woomf however there is some great scenery and on Alex (my B&B propriotor's) suggestion I went up the Seweweekspoort pass today to a private game reserve, he was also kind enough to introduce me last night to his favourite Friday night hangout where I enjoyed a good slagging from the locals and my first kudu burger, delicious. Alex is an expatriate Glaswegian who never stops talking - now who does that remind me of but he has been a star recommending all sorts of places to see over the rest of my travels here.

The deceptively easy start to the pass

Uh-ohh

Missing Photos

The Mean Machine at the top of the Tradouw Pass

Looking South, downhill, to the farmlands.

Looking North, uphill, to the Little Karoo.

I avoided this place on my first South Africa trip but after Googling the place I called in for a beer yesterday, it is just a bar with ladies dusty underwear hanging from the rafters.

This truck was full of tourists visiting Ronnie's - you would have to be Intrepid to travel around the Little Karoo in a greenhouse on the back of a lorry!

Montagu to Barrydale

Barrydale

The distance between Montagu and Barrydale is only 62km or about 50years. Montagu was an epicurean delight with tasteful galleries and well spoken ladies of a certain age tottering around its clean Victorian streets, Barrydale is South African modern with garish tourist haunts on the main Route 62 but the town away from all that is more laid back with some hidden gems. I am staying at the Blue Cow Barn in a barn conversion, the owner also runs The Blue Cow Cafe @ the Barrydale Waterfront which is a cafe overlooking a large pool which contains masses of huge Koi carp and surrounded by nesting sites for brightly coloured native birds a lovely place for breakfast and lunch.

 Jacaranda tree with  bougainvillea growing through it

My room at the Blue Cow Barn

Looking back at Montagu

I spent a lot of time just exploring the town on foot but i did take a trip over the Tradouw Pass which was a pleasant drive with great but not spectacular views. Again I can recommend Barydale for good honest South African food by that I mean meat, the Art Hotel is a case in point, an award winning chef immaculate service and all for the cost of a McDonnalds in the UK. I also tried the local Pakistani take away, they seemed very surprised to see me but the chicken curry and roti took me back the my last visit to the sub-continent fantastic taste and so far nearly 24 hours later no repercussions.
Today I stopped off for a 3 hour lunch on the way here to Ladismith and I am now going out for a Friday night burger, more soon

Another gorge walk.

We left the excitement Friedenhof on Saturday morning and on our way to Montagu in the Little Karoo we slowly went back in time. I struck lucky this time, of all the places we passed through and explored on the way here Montagu is definitely the most pleasant with more restaurants and art galleries than would be expected in such a small provincial town. I am actually sad that I will be here for only 3 nights as I have not had a bad meal so far and there are places that I haven't tried yet.

Brilliant roadside stall on R62 which sells everything you might need

Harry and Marmalade strapped in.

Jacaranda trees near the Bree River

The temperatures are more pleasant with an expected high of 28C but even so I went early today to avoid the midday heat on a gorge walk up to the Avalon Springs thermal resort, this was a little less strenuous than the Samaria Gorge in Crete a distance of only 3km each way with refreshments at either end, you would have loved it Jane, just enough of a challenge to make you feel that you had earned that beer at the end, thought it was a little intimidating expecting baboons, snakes and leopards to ambush me at every turn but as it turned out that besides the myriad of birds that kept me company the only animal that contested my passage was a tortoise.

Did I just hear a baboon?

Cool place for a panad.

What lurks down that tunnel or in the bamboo???

He did't even blink as I walked past.

Ducks 'n stuff continued.

I had intended to climb Table Mountain this week but with a near three thousand feet climb and temperatures approaching 40C I took the adult decision to say no and I will try again next time. I have been stretching the legs at various wineries and I can recommend Spier Winery in particular, it has a huge acreage which you can walk around including trails of 5 and 10km and there are three eating establishments and a wine tasting centre with knowledgable staff. I must admit the diverse low priced good quality food over here is going to be my downfall even more so than the diverse low priced good quality wine and beer so in five weeks time the blob will be landing at Heathrow unless I up my exercise regime.

Ducks 'n stuff.

The duck parade

The duck wrangler with 4 eggs picked up en route to the vineyard

Yesterday on the recommendation of my host at Friedenhof, Kyle, I went to Vergenoegd Wine Estate to see their duck parade, every morning at 10:30 they release up to 800 Indian runner ducks into their vineyards to keep down the bug and slug populations, i got there early and had their interpretation of Eggs Benedict (not duck eggs I hope) at a ludicrously cheap price followed by the best cup of coffee I have had for six or more months.

An interesting few days.

We are now in Montagu on the edge of the Little Karoo and the weather has changed, not quite long trousers but blissfully cool after the last few days.

I have enjoyed the last four days at Friedenhof the location is midway between the winelands of Stellenbosch and Cape Town itself, I did try to pay a visit to Cape Town but traffic has increased hugely since my last visit here two years ago so I gave up that thought and went to Groot Constantia for a few bottles of my favourite Cabernet Sauvignon and then went to have a look at Century City - bad mistake, it is retail hell with over four hundred retail outlets but I did find an excellent samosa shop and the tourist information office. It was very crowded so much so that I now do not believe that there is a recession here in South Africa.

Friedenhof was a quaint little place, there were chickens and LOUD roosters and six dogs who defended the boundaries vociferously, I also had a male secretary bird who practised his display routines whilst  was breakfasting on my patio.

My room is on the left

In limbo

I am having serious IT issues and I cannot access the internet on any of my digital devices using Microsoft or Apple, I managed to connect to this site via Google Chrome so I aim to make the most of it.

Marmalade and Harry decided to accompany me on this trip, I think they got bored and cold last November whilst I was laundering my passport and picking up parking tickets in Spain, they are enjoying the temperatures over here but 35C was a bit too much for me in Stellenbosch at lunchtime today.

Anyway to start at the beginning, my good friends Peter and Helen gave me a lift to Llandudno Junction to catch the train to Heathrow via Euston, my seat ticket put me opposite Mike and next to Leonard a father and son team from Wisconsin who are travelling around the world for a year or so, they were good company after I got over the embarrassment of Leonard's conversation which mostly consisted of the F word and not in the quietest American accent I have ever heard, but the journey down to Euston passed quickly with us all telling tall stories.

Security at Heathrow Terminal 3 was a dream compared to Manchester Airport, the staff are efficient but personable and the queue was less than 15 minutes. In my estimation British Airways are coming on by leaps and bounds, not only was my seat in the World Traveller section comfortable with extra legroom but the attendant on my aisle was not only professional but young and took the time to make you feel as though you mattered, well done BA it has taken a while but you seem to be getting there.

Yesterday was a bit of a write-off, we landed just before 12pm local time and after an hour's queue to get through immigration/passport control my trainee counter clerk at Avis took another hour to sort out my hire car which is a very basic Hyundai i10 but to be honest it is fine for what I will be using it for and at less than £13 per day I cannot complain. I had researched the journey to my first stop between Stellenbosch and Cape Town and it worked perfectly, who needs satnav?  We arrived at Friedenhof to be greeted by Kyle who showed us to our home for the next four nights so after dumping the cases we did the normal orientation and necessities shopping before having a shower and a South African mega burger - no bun required, before an early night. 

Nine hours sleep last night, wonderful, and a relaxed start to the day with breakfast on the terrace and then some wine tasting and wine buying followed by lunch at the Deli-CAT-essen in Tokara winery outside Stellenbosch, this was a fortuitous find because it is not advertised in the tourist brochures and I only stumbled on it because I had arrived too early for the restaurant so I went for a walk in the grounds. The clientele were all local and I would estimate at the middle to top of the social spectrum which is probably why I was relegated to a bench on the edge of the patio but great plate of charcutterie and cheese along with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon along with this view made it a lunch to remember.

The view from my bench at the deli-CAT-essen at Tokara Winery

The winery wine-tasting/restaurant area from the 'Selfie Platform' ??